Comments for Curled tail feathers

This is usually caused by nutritional deficiencies, but can also be related to poor lighting and cages that are too small. You should be feeding a pellet diet and the cage for a pair of Plum-headed parakeets should be at least 30 x 30 and larger would be better. I recommend that you have your bird examined by an avian veterinarian and be sure to feed a pellet diet such as Harrison's or Roudybush.

Are you referring to how baby came out of egg or did this happen after hatching? If it happened after hatching, then the nest is too small and will need to be enlarged. The youngest babies are always crowded and get less food than the older ones, so keep an eye on them to make sure they're getting enough food.

When I used to raise Cockatiels, we had to take and handfeed the last two babies because the larger two would not allow them to eat. We'd take the two smaller ones out and handfeed and then put back in the nestbox. After a while, we pulled all of them for handfeeding so they'd be nice and tame for new caretakers. One or more usually could already talk as well from listening to us talk to them while they were being fed.

Handfeeding is more than just getting food into them. It is a time for showing them love, tenderness and warmth from humans and makes them take more readily to their new homes with humans.

The tail feathers will come in straight once baby loses baby feathers and grows in new ones. Not sure how long it will take. Make sure your nest box is large enough for 3-4 babies so they are not crowded in there. The smallest ones get pushed to the sides at feeding times by the older, larger babies, so keep an eye on things when you have that many babies in a nestbox.